


Wilma

by HeidiErickson



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Female Friendship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-03-19 06:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3600369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeidiErickson/pseuds/HeidiErickson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>" - Why 'Wilma? Of all the names you could've picked, why Wilma? I've never found that name to be . . . well, honestly, attractive. It belongs to an old woman, not someone your age." Snow wanted to know. </p><p>Regina felt herself shutting down, not wanting to face the past, face her memories. But - it was, really, just a simple question - with a profound answer behind it . . .</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wilma

Regina hated to admit it, but she was very curious about Granny’s lasagna, and why a lot of people seemed to like it. And today, of all days, Regina decided to just go with the heck of it and find out for herself. She strode up Granny’s Diner’s steps with purpose and entered the restaurant. Thankfully, only Mary Margaret and her infant son, with Leroy and the other dwarves and Archie were there as well. No Emma, thank the gods. Henry was at school (finally, after a long time of skipping it because so much had been going on). David wasn’t here (Regina guessed he was with Emma on one of their fruitless quest for the Snow Queen), and most of all, no Robin Hood…or Marian, or Roland. (Oh, but she missed that little boy dearly…and his father…his father.)

Shuddering from an attack of tears, Regina shook off thoughts of the musky smell of forest and Robin’s hands stroking her body, her face, her hair, and Roland’s dimpled smiles as he begged her for more magic tricks or ice cream, and Marian. _She’s still your wife._

Regina approached the counter and waited for Granny to address her. But the old woman seemed to be engrossed in a conversation with the others, surrounding Mart Margaret.

It then occurred to Regina that the current mayor of Storybrooke seemed…a mite harried. No, scratch that, make that _very_ harried. Emma’s superpower might be reading people, but mine is listening to people. Regina leaned against the counter casually, feigning interest in the menu as she turned into the conversation near her.

“…Still extremely unsafe! Look at what happened to the power the other day—and Marian—and let’s not forget your daughter, missy!” Leroy’s grouchy voice balked, and Archie chimed in, “Mary Margaret, I promise you, it hurts me to be this demanding, but after my situation with Cora and Captain Hook kidnapping me, I am very concerned about the security in my office. What if someone breaks in disguised as Regina again and kills me? It wouldn’t do her good, either, given her—“

Regina rolled her eyes and stifled a snort, oddly pleased that for once no one noticed her presence. She heard Granny interrupt Archie, “Well, what about my diner? I have everything frozen, but that ice queen could do something like melt my food I worked long and hard on making! Ruby will throw a fit if I have to make her knead the dough again—“

“Ain’t that the most important things in life, Granny?!” Leroy sneered, and focused back on Mary Margaret, “Listen, sister, I get this whole mayor bus’ness’ a huge thing for ya, but ain’t that just half as hard as bein’ a princess? And last I ‘member, yer were pretty good at the whole thing.”

And Mary Margaret, poor, poor Mary Margaret was desperately trying to edge a word in with the best conciliatory expression she could pull, and to Regina’s surprise, she was seemingly just backing down and weakening under pressure. _Come on, Snow. I know you can stand up to them. If you could do that to me many times before, then they shouldn’t be a problem—_

“When Regina was mayor, we sure never had this problem b’fore,” Leroy grouched, “What does she have that you don’t, sister? Evil and fireballs?”

That was the last straw. Regina only saw defending Snow as something she should do only when absolutely necessary, and right now it was. Comparing her to Regina was absolutely wrong, and she was going to put an end to this peasant rabble nonsense. With fireballs, if necessary. Regina cleared her throat loudly and stepped down from her stool. Surprised, the others turned to face her.

Regina gave the Storybrooke peasants a condescending smile, trying her best to appear threatening without intent to murder or anything like that. _…Which is hard._ “I couldn’t help but overhear my name,” the former mayor spoke up with false cheeriness, “And how you peas— _people_ are…well, quite _impatient_ with our _new_ mayor. And, uh, as a _citizen_ of Storybrooke, but also your still current Enchanted Forest queen, I’m saying that your treatment is…” Regina tried to think of a polite way to say it, but just seeing Granny and Leroy’s unimpressed stares set her off.

She dropped her polite façade and turned into the hostile mayor everyone was so familiar with—and intimidated by. She released a glare upon them and raised her voice sharply, “If you people were able to treat _me_ with respect and subordination, back before Emma Swan came here and broke my Curse, then you most certainly are able to treat _your princess_ , and _current mayor_ , with the same respect and subordination! Mary Margaret may not be one for fireballs and ripping out hearts, and I’m not anymore, but petty demands of a generally well-treated community are the reason some communities never work out well, especially when you treat your _leader_ as someone who should know everything and do everything! Mary Margaret is a _new mayor_. That means, she is _still learning_ her new job, as well as _raising a child_ , and _I_ , of _all people_ , know full well about how _hard_ that is! You want to fix problems? _Fix them yourself!_ ”

Leroy and Granny’s faces were white sheets of intimidation and sudden respect, Archie seemed a mite afraid but also proud of Regina’s progress from impatience and cruelty to simple peaceful assertion, and the dwarves mumbled amongst themselves and nodded meekly. And only Mary Margaret seemed relieved and slightly embarrassed that her stepmother had to help her out of a weak moment.

Regina became aware and strangely self-conscious about the set of eyes on her, the same set of eyes which had been full of hell two years ago, bent on destroying her the moment they awoke from the first Curse, now not afraid of her or angry at her. Just…mild admiration, and mostly intimidation, which unsettled her. She still wasn’t used to “her people” actually starting to like her. _Is it because I still think of myself as the Evil Queen sometimes?_

Hiding her insecurity, Regina frowned at the people like a teacher scolding her students. “There. Now, I expect you to treat our mayor with the respect I will show her.” With that, she forgot why she had come here in the first place and headed back out.

“Regina!”

Regina was barely out of the door when she heard her stepdaughter struggle out of the diner with her sleeping baby in the stroller. “Regina!”

Sighing, Regina kept walking but turned her neck to look at Mary Margaret. “What?”

“Thank you,” the younger woman sent her a grateful smile. “I could’ve handled it by myself, but I appreciate your help.”

Regina sniggered. “Are you getting your sense of independence from me?”

Mary Margaret giggled. “Maybe.” Then she sobered. “But I do need one thing, Regina.”

Regina groaned inwardly. She was hoping for just one whole afternoon to herself, a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine, and a _Hell’s Kitchen_ marathon, but it didn’t seem to be the plan anymore.

But she remembered that Mary Margaret was more important at the moment, and thought she’d told her before that she should figure it out herself, it might help to give her the Mayor’s Handbook.

Regina slowed down to give Mary Margaret time to catch up with her. “What you need is a handbook, Mary Margaret, and I have just the thing for you. Come with me.” She sent the former princess-turned-bandit a knowing look, and Mary Margaret nodded enthusiastically and complied.

They strolled in companionable silence back to Regina’s house. But before Regina even came downstairs from her room with the book, she found Mary Margaret settled comfortably in her living room, baby Neal sleeping in his carriage, and two glasses of wine on the coffee table.

 _…I guess_ Hell’s Kitchen _is going to have wait for a bit longer._ Regina sighed quietly and sat on the couch opposite Mary Margaret. “Are you going to be the new Dr. Hopper now?” Regina quipped, recognizing the _I’m-about-to-give-you-an-uplifting-and-therauptic-speech-right-now-and-you-better-listen_ look on her stepdaughter’s face.

Mary Margaret laughed softly, “No. I understand you’d rather be alone right now, Regina, and I promise I won’t make this long. It’s just that…I was surprised at you, back in the diner. I didn’t expect you to stick up for me so strongly. What made you do that?”

Regina crossed her arms thoughtfully, trying to find the best response without any sentiment involved. “Well, your rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers approach to the people wasn’t working, as per usual, so I decided to throw in my measure of authority. If they will back down for me, then they certainly will with you next time, because they’ll know I’m on your side. Professionally. If you wish…” She released a long-suffering sigh and glanced right to the empty fireplace, “…I can be some sort of office adviser for you. Or I could babysit for you. I’m not really in the mood to help with Emma and David’s saving-the-day shenanigans, but with Henry in school…I have nothing to do, except to mope in here with chocolate and _Hell’s Kitchen_.”

Mary Margaret’s eyebrows shot up. “You watch _Hell’s Kitchen_?”

“Sure.” Regina managed a tiny, mischievous grin. “Cooking plus a chef who enjoys tormenting people with foul insults? I enjoy that.”

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Of course. Only you’d like a show like that. But I’m not buying all of it, Regina. I don’t think it was just because you wanted them to just…show me respect, or whatever. You wanted to help me for me…didn’t you?”

Noticing that the insightful new mayor could always still see right into her, Regina relented. “…Yes. It’s like when you saved me from the mob of people and soldiers who were bent on killing me, al because I defended the Evil Queen, who I was, incidentally, in disguise, at the time. The truth is…not back then, but after a while, I began just wanting to pay you back for that day, to pay you for your kindness and bravery.”

Mary Margaret smiled warmly at her. “You didn’t have to do that. But thank you anyway. Still, Regina, I’m just wondering…”

Regina braced herself for another soul-searching question.

“—Why ‘ _Wilma_ ’? Of all the names you could’ve picked, why _Wilma_? I’ve never found that name to be…well, honestly, attractive. It belongs to an old woman, not someone your age.”

 _…Oh._ A wave of sadness dove over her, and Regina felt herself shutting down, not wanting to face the past, face her memories. But…it was, really, just a simple question…with a profound answer behind it. And Mary Margaret wanted to know.

And Regina didn’t know why, but she wanted to tell her. And tell her she did.

* * *

 

The Evil Queen had been reigning for a year now, a year after King Leopold’s mysterious death and Snow White’s disappearance. Queen Regina roamed these woods, the plains, the villages, searching for that Snow White. Her only goal was to kill Snow White, and though that, she would be truly happy.

A year and four thousand and seventy-three deaths later, Regina stood before her latest victim, her latest prey guilty for protecting that selfish bandit Snow White. The queen stood regally, her fists placed upon her hips, towering over the kneeling old woman in her cell.

“You have two choices, peasant,,” Regina sneered, her blood boiling with rage and hatred, “Tell me where you have hidden Snow White, or die at dawn.”

The woman, her eyes bright and oddly familiar, bowed her head and shook her head. “I serve my princess, and my loyalty lies in her only. I wish to die at dawn if I must.”

Regina chuckled hollowly. “You would rather die at the hands of your queen than do me one simple task? Tell me one simple word? How life must have made you miserable already, you pathetic peasant.” She shook her head in disgust and whirled around to leave.

“It is not life that has made me miserable, Your Majesty, but my loss of true love. Something I can sense you can relate to.”

Her voice stopped her short in her tracks. Regina turned around slowly, ready to lash out at her with fireballs, burn her to ash, but something, something in those intense, kind eyes told her to hold still. “And what is it you mean by ‘ _true love_ ’?” Regina hid the tremble in her voice with a sneer.

The woman smiled sadly. “My son…I loved him more than anything else. Would’ve wanted nothing more than to have him by my side for always. But even more than that, I wanted him to be happy. And he was…especially every evening after working at the stables all day. He would come in the house with the biggest smile you’d ever seen on his face. Oh, the times I’d ask him what he was so alight about, but he’d just blush and stammer, ‘Oh, Mum, don’t ask me, please.’” The old woman chuckled lightly, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

Regina felt an uncharacteristic tug of pity in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to dismiss this pitiful hag immediately and prepare for her execution tomorrow, but something in her, a still, small voice, told her to wait. And listen.

“From time to time…I began to suspect that look in his eyes…the wide quirk in his smile…the near bounce in his steps…really meant one thing. He was deeply, madly in love with someone.” The woman gazed into Regina’s eyes without fear or even guardedness. “One afternoon, he came home early and packed his things. He embraced me tightly and told me to sit down…and then told me what I’d suspected all along. He was truly, deeply, madly in love…and yet, he couldn’t tell me who. Or where he was going. This kind of love, Your Majesty, was true and magical, and yet deeply forbidden and dangerous. He was in love with someday, he said, whose family could destroy them both should they come out in public.”

Her breath hitched, and her heart jumped into her throat. Regina couldn’t stop a small gasp from escaping her mouth. Fortunately, the woman didn’t notice, so lost in remembrance of things past.

“My son was very sorry that he couldn’t tell me anything more, but he wanted to protect me, and his true love. He wept, because he knew that he might never see me again. And I him. Your Majesty, if I had all the power in the world to keep him with me forever, I could…but I always will put my son first. And let him go, I did, though it took a piece out of my heart to do so. My son’s happiness…is far more important than my own. And now…” the woman’s eyes darkened with sorrow, and her mouth quirked down slightly, “I don’t know where my son is. Or how he is. Or his wife. If they have children…if they’re living a happy life…oh, I am very sure of this. With true love, anything is possible…because, true love is magic.”

An invisible hand reached around Regina’s throat and squeezed, and her body felt like it had been stabbed with a thousand daggers. She instinctively touched her neck and rubbed it lightly, frantically reminding herself that she was the queen, and she was supposed to…to…

To what? And all Regina could think of was one question. One question, and one question only that would ultimately affect her decision about this prisoner…this… _innocent woman_.

“Your son…” She hated how her voice broke and shook with raw emotion, emotions that she had long buried for many years, “…What was his name?”

The woman’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, surprise that the Evil Queen would actually care to know such a trite fact. “His name was Daniel.” She answered softly. “That’s all I can tell you, with all due respect, Your Majesty.”

Unbidden tears snuck up into Regina’s eyes, and she blinked once, twice to keep them at bay. _Oh, Daniel._ Aware that this woman, Daniel’s mother, was watching her with nothing but complete compassion and patience, Regina quickly and subtly composed herself, reverting back into her regal state of coldness and superiority.

She inhaled deeply and glared at the woman as cruelly as she could. “A very convincing story, peasant. You, surprisingly, have touched a very small source of mercy I have in me, and I’ve changed my mind about your fate. You may live…in here, forever.” She attempted to bring up a sinister cackle, but none would come. Her nerves were running her up a wall, and she felt suffocated by grief…rage…hatred…regret… _guilt_. Silently, she swept her long skirt around and elegantly stalked away, determined to forget the woman in her permanent cell. Maybe she wouldn’t bother to get her fed.

That night, Regina had a long, hot bath and then crept into bed and fell into a fitful sleep. She moaned and could feel herself growing hotter with every minute, haunted by dark and taunting dreams of her mother, of Rumplestiltskin, even of Snow, though deep in Regina’s heart, she knew Snow had been a victim as well, but she was not ready to admit it.

The dreams poked hollow, painful holes in her mind, her body, her heart, and ghostly voices whispered in her ear, speaking of sinister thoughts and deeds Regina had done, and most of all, how she would never, ever find true love again. The voices grew louder and louder, changing into bloodcurdling wails that thickened the atmosphere in her room, and –

Gasping loudly, Regina thrust up into a sitting position, panting heavily. Drenched in cold sweat, Regina hurriedly wrapped a robe around her and fled her dark bedroom, making way down to a private room in the palace.

That private room held Daniel’s preserved body in a glass coffin. Regina‘s bare feet padded across the chilly floor, and she felt that familiar despair in her heart as she neared the body of her fiancé. Her hands touched the glass lightly, as she looked down at his face, and Regina wished with all of her heart that he was able to open his eyes and speak to her. Tell her what she should do. Tell her to hope again. Tell her to _love_ again. Shaking those foolish notions out of her head, Regina leaned forward and kissed her fingers, sending him an imaginary kiss. _I miss you so much, Daniel._

A twitch in her toes was all it took, and then her whole body was shaking with sobs. She slammed her fist down on the coffin, but it didn’t break. Red-hot rage rose inside her, and a snarling Regina grabbed the nearest décor and thrust it at the wall, making it shatter into a million pieces. The sad visage of the rubble in the dark corner of the room reminded Regina of her own heart, and she sank down against the coffin to the ground, utterly spent. Wrapping her arms around her knees, Regina bowed her head and wept quietly, hopelessly tied to his life of evil and darkness. There was no going back, not after all she’d done.

After what seemed to be an eternity, her head rose, and she saw the glow of pink peeking over the trees outdoor, seeping through the window and brightening the room. It was dawn, and Regina hadn’t made the official announcements about the prisoner’s fate.

A puff of purple smoke later, Regina was dressed in a regal black dress with a spiked collar, and she stood before the prisoner in her cell. Bemused, Regina noticed how peaceful the old woman slept on the smelly hay floor, not a worry of the world in her mind. Just like the way Daniel slept. Wisps of brown still showed in her graying hair. Hair like Daniel’s.

Regina cleared her throat loudly and stamped her foot once impatiently. The woman stirred, and her eyes blinked open. She raised her head to see who’d awoken her, and she gasped softly when she saw the queen before her. “Your majesty,” she croaked, her voice raspy from sleep, ad she rose to her knees. “What is it?” Again, her eyes held only sympathy and curiosity in the, even further pricking Regina’s long-asleep conscience.

“What’s your name?” The queen asked tersely.

“Why, it’s Wilma.” The prisoner replied with only a mere note of uncertainty in her voice.

“Wilma,” Regina repeated slowly, and nodded once. She plastered a derisive sneer on her face and jammed a key into the lock of the cell, yanking it open. “You are not to say a word. Not even a sound. Walk out of here and remember this moment when I have shown you mercy. Mercy that will never happen again. And I never want to see you again, peasant, lest your face be tacked on a WANTED poster in the forest. Is that understood?”

Wilma’s eyes brightened with hope for a split second, and her face softened into a gentle gaze in Regina’s direction. But heeding her orders, Wilma only gave her a slight nod of understanding, and for one motherly minute, she almost reached out to touch the queen’s icy, severe face, wanting to wipe away the years of whatever toil and pain had been bestowed upon her. Knowing better than that, she walked down the dungeon corridor to the exit without a backwards glance.

Regina never saw her again. And for that, she was thankful. Who knows what she would have done next time. Two years of murder, massacres, and mayhem, and not a single prisoner or peasant Regina ever remembered harming or annihilating…all except for Wilma. Wilma, she never forgot.

* * *

 

Regina was drawn back to the present and found the box of tissues on the coffee table was empty. Crumpled tissues lay here and there, on herself, on the couch, on the couch across from her, on Snow, and even on baby Neal. Snow and Regina’s noses were raw from the sniffling, and their eyes felt puffy.

“I didn’t expect my story to be so soul-searching,” Regina croaked mildly and took a swig of wine from her cup.

Snow nodded and took a sip of hers. “Regina, your life is one reason I want to cry every day. Those things your mother and Rumplestiltskin did to you, even my father…if they hadn’t happened…”

Regina shook her head firmly, “Snow, I still always had a choice. After I pushed my mother in the mirror to Wonderland, I could have just returned the book to Rumple and said _no_. I should have just walked away. But I didn’t…and now, I must spend the rest of my life doing penance for my crimes.” She smiled slightly, “At least most of Storybrooke sees me as good now. They know I am changing, and that’s a start.”

Snow smiled back, the sweet, adoring smile she always gave Regina since the day she saved her from the runaway horse, the smile that always melted Regina’s heart. “I know you tend to credit Henry and me for always having faith in you and believing that there is good in you, Regina…but I also think that Wilma did, too. I mean, she was just like all of us, I mean, the people who were protecting me from you at that time. To you, she was a threat, and yet you did the opposite of what the Evil Queen would have done. You did what Regina would have done.”

Regina snorted softly and looked down at her fiddling fingers. “It was because Daniel would have wanted me to. Wilma was his mother. I couldn’t bear—though I didn’t want to admit it back then—seeing her die. I mean…had Daniel lived, she would have been my mother-in-law…and, oh, Snow, she would have been _just wonderful_.” She shook her head, “I just wish I had the courage back then to tell her what happened to Daniel. She had the right to know.”

Snow tilted her head to the side thoughtfully and glanced to the left, musing, “Perhaps so. But then, maybe it’d be a good thing. You said she seemed so at peace with her son’s disappearance, that she had faith that he was living a good life somewhere…and who knows, Regina, you might most definitely be right. Daniel’s body is gone…but his soul must be someplace good and perfect, as good as perfect as he was to you, Regina.”

Another tear fell down Regina’s cheek, and she smiled a genuine smile for the first time in a few days. “I think you’re right.” She nodded.

Suddenly, a hungry shriek filled the air. Startled, Snow and Regina glanced at the crying baby in his carriage. Both women laughed softly, a little sheepish at how emotional their conversation had been.

But it also was a very, very good conversation.

After Mary Margaret finished breast-feeding Neal and Regina gave her the Mayor’s Handbook, they went to the front door. Mary Margaret smiled brightly up at Regina, “I guess I can do mayor work after all, especially with this book.”

Regina sent her a slightly snarky smile. “Just remember that it’s okay to be just a little intimidating. As a future queen, and the current mayor, one finds respect and a sense of authority best with intimidation…” Regina had to force-spit the last words out, “…And, yes, love.”

“Future queen?” Mary Margaret repeated, stunned. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her. “Yes.” She nodded. “When we return to the Enchanted Forest, I’m officially giving up the throne to you. It’s rightfully yours. Just…as long we can…still be together.” Her eyes darted to the floor, her voice lowering with a note of uncertainty.

In a beat, Mary Margaret’s arms were wound around her neck. “Yes. Oh, yes!” She felt the former bandit’s cheek bobbing up and down against her shoulder, and her first impuse was to push her away with dignity, but something cold broke in her, and warmth spilled through. A second later, Regina returned the gesture and placed her hands tenderly on Mary Margaret’s back, embracing her like a mother embracing her child.

The last time Regina had hugged her like this was out of pretense and evil intentions.

This time, this was real, and out of love.

Mary Margaret pulled back a moment later and gave Regina that smile she secretly loved. “Thank you, Regina.” She finished quietly, and carefully maneuvered the carriage down Regina’s porch steps and walked off under the warm sun. Regina made a mental note to herself to add a ramp to her porch for baby carriages.

After Mary Margaret was out of sight, Regina blew out a sigh of relief and closed the door behind her.

 _Now, for that box of chocolates and Season 1 of_ Hell’s Kitchen _. I’ll worry about everything else tomorrow._


End file.
